Letter U , UU
Letter u is pronounced as in English 'due' and never as in English 'duck'. Tanacross, u and uu have the same sound, but uu has a longer duration than u.Click on a video below to see and hear Mrs. Irene Arnold pronouncing words with U , UU.
tuu water
ninchûun bull moose
wuthǔul' his, her or its windpipe
Tth'itú' Tanana River
shuusí' my name
chuyh down feathers
Short u and long uu both represent a high back vowel [u]. When it occurs between velar consonants, the phoneme /u/ may be lowered to [o], in which case it is generally written o rather than u. Thus, note the difference in the pre-stem vowel in the following examples.
naxghogdeg 'I should tell a story'
naxghuldeg 'you should tell a story'
similar sounds